as a testimony of respect due to you, for your manly perseverance in maintaining the practical part of free discussion. Futurity will receive the benefit of your sufferings and assiduity in eliciting truth. We cannot conclude without expressing our sympathy for the sufferings of Wife and Sister, and your noble assistants. your half of your admirers, In the be Thomas Turton's fourth subscription, and completion of a penny per week for the Three Years Imprisonment Adam Renwick, do. do. George Walton, was twenty years a Wesleyan Methodist, but now a Materialist Thomas Parker, an Enemy to George Moore William Lindley, an Admirer of 8. d. 6 6 4 6 3 6 1 0 1 0 L. R. Jonathan Smith, a Freethinker T. T. Priestcraft Samuel Wilson 0 Joseph Horsefall 111200 1 E. Middleton Joseph Andrew, a Republican, Deacons 0 William Calvert Thomas Sleigh Moses Evers R. CARLILE. Thanks to my Sheffield Friends, and let the Unitarian Priest of their town answer, instead of abusing, my publi cations. No. 25. Vol. VI. A NEW SCHEME TO COUNTERACT THE WORKINGS OF A FREE PRESS AND FREE DISCUSSION. THE following hand-bill, or placard, has been sent to me, after being taken down, from the walls of Bolton, Lancashire. My Correspondent is anxious that I should solicit an order for a supply of my publications to this Library as it would be as well adapted to the tastes as to the pockets of the labouring poor of Bolton, to be able to get a knowledge of all my publications through some such channel. He assures me it would be a means to keep the Librarian in most active employ, whilst, if the Library contains nothing but lying and superstitious tracts, the people of Bolton already know enough of them to refuse to waste any more time in reading them, without other expence. I there.fore publicly solicit the favour of an order from Colonel Fletcher, and Hulton of Hulton, and if they cannot raise the means to pay me, I will give an assortment of my publications as a subscription to so useful an Institution. R. CARLILE. Given under my hand and seal this 8th day of November, in the third Year. of Liberty's second dawn at Dorchester Palace. LIBRARY FOR THE POOR. A Parochial Lending Library has been formed by members of the established church, for the purpose of accommodating the poor with books, free of all expence. The library is kept at the Savings' Bank, where catalogues will be provided. Any one borrowing a book, must either be recommended by a subscriber, or be known and approved by the person who delivers the books. Attendance will be given at the Savings' Bank, on a Saturday from 12 o'clock to 1 in the Afternoon. SUBSCRIBERS. Mrs. Bancroft, late Vicar's Widow Mr. Jones, Ex-Boroughreeve Miss Bolling Mr. J. Bamber R. and J. Mangnall Mawdsley, BoroughreeveAdjutant to the Yeomanry-Clerk to the Savings' Bank at a salary of £50 per Year, and also Librarian to the above charming Institution!!! N. B. It is expected that the books, when lent, will be properly taken care of, and punctually returned according to the instructions given; and subscribers are requested to specify these conditions to the persons whom they recommend. Bolton, October 9, 1822. Gardner and Yates, Printers, Bolton. TO MR. R. CARLILE, DORCHESTER GAOL. DEAR SIR, Ilull, November 5, 1822. AT length I have the pleasure to transmit to you, a few subscriptions at this place on your behalf, which you will find at the foot hereof. Considering the cause-the sacred cause of "free discussion on matters of opinion" which you so ably defend, and the persecutions and sufferings that you, and your family have undergone in supporting that cause; I regret extremely that the amount is so small. There are probably many individuals. who neither read nor wish to read your publications, and who yet wish to contribute their mites towards your support, from a persuasion that you are the victims of savage injustice and oppression. Such was the case of the principal subscriber who brought his pound to me last night, declaring that he had long wished to assist you as far as his ability would go, but did not know before what medium to adopt. I am no admirer of the doctrines of Materialism, their moral tendency is think, but badly evinced by the conduct of many opulent individuals, who are quite of your opinion, and yet do not afford you the least succour. nove Those doctrines are not at all moral to me. I remember reading some of the best French works on that subject above twenty years ago, when living under the dominion of the "Holy Inquisition" in Spain, but (perhaps from the obtuseness of my understanding I could never comprehend it possible that mere matter and motion without intelligence, could produce that admirable symmetry and order in the material world, much less that they could produce intelligent beings. 66 Priests have been so full of tricks and delusion, that it is not surprising that many like yourself, reject every thing they advance as false. But though you differ from me in opinion, ought I to imprison and fine you, if it were in my power? No! God forbid; for you have just as good a right to fine and imprison me and others, who presume to differ from you in opinion: No, no, let all have fair play say 1, whatever be their tenets-It is a poor religion indeed that cannot stand the test of argument, aye and that of ridicule too. Having as I before remarked lived under the holy Spanish Inquisition, we will, if you please, contrast its conduct with that of the mild “ English Inquisition" or rather Inquisitions, for we have two of them. I was impudent enough when there, to speak pretty freely against the "Institutions" of that country, without however being in the least molested either by individuals or the Inquisition. A friend of mine proposed to introduce me to the latter, in order that I might have a thorough set to with them. 1 declined the offer, knowing that they used the same strong arguments which your persecutors use-fine and imprisonment! Some pitied my ignorance and prayed for me, and if your persecutors would restrain their pious rancour and be content to do the same only, they would be no worse Christians on that account-Christians, they are not so, who persecute others they may be Atheists or hypocrites but not Christians-the latter return good for evil-do unto others as they would have others do unto them-love their enemies. But our Mock-Christians cannot even love their friends, who wish to point out to them the path of truth. I am digressing however from my subject-let us return to the contrast between the English Inquisition and the Spanish. The former lay traps and snares and excite even to the commission of what they call crime-employ their spies to peep through key-holes and such like dirty tricks. Now I will tell you what the Spanish Inquisition did in a case that came to my knowledge. An old Spaniard, full of zeal for truth and hatred to imposture, loudly and constantly denounced the delusions and tricks of the priests. This of course came to the ears of the Inquisition-They deputed one of their body to wait on the individual and point out to him the impropriety of his conduct in disturbing the order of society, and unhinging the faith of Christians; they begged of him to desist. It was of no avail, he could not restrain himself, determined to open the eyes of his countrymen, if possible, he denounced as loudly as ever, the errors of their infallible church. Well, what did the holy Gentlemen do now think you? Send their spies to entrap him? No! they waited upon him again, assuring him that they did not want to injure him nor interfere at all with his opinions-they were as liberal as Mr. Scarlett was, when talking about Mr. Williams and the Durham Priest, "You are at full liberty," said they, "to entertain any opinion whatever, only keep them to yourself-you must not disturb society by publishing them." The worthy old Spaniard being "obstinate" as some weak people call it, pursued his career as before, and was at length seized on by the Inquisition, and sent across to the Spanish fort on the coast of Africa. Now which do you like the best, or rather which do you hate the most, the English or the then Spanish Inquisition? O yes, we have Inquisitions, and are a free people too! If you have received the Hull Advertiser that has been sent to you, I need not tell you what a Rev. G. C. Smith from Penzance has been saying here about you. It was a sad omission on his part not to ascertain the name of your Shopman who has recanted and burnt his books. From his statement it would appear that infidel writings are not of so combustible a nature as other papers, for your poor repentWith ant Shopman had to blow the fire in order to consume them! my best wishes for the welfare of yourself and family, I remain, Dear Sir, Yours most sincerely, J. JACKSON. |